Arizona avoided this fate, despite being a far drier place, largely because we had something California didn't: the Groundwater Management Act of 1980.

The state legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, outlawed irrigation on any new acres of farmland and required subdivisions in more populated areas to show a 100-year water supply before building, among other requirements.

Arizona was rapidly depleting its irreplaceable underground aquifers, and everyone was fighting over who had rights to the water. The conflict came to a head in 1976 when a state Supreme Court decision on groundwater pumping threatened to decimate Tucson’s then-sizable mining industry.

A new documentary, “Groundwater: To Enact a Law for the Common Good,” chronicles how lawmakers overcame improbable odds and deep-seated animosity to pass one of Arizona's most important laws. It holds lessons for today’s leaders, who again are facing big, nasty fights over the state's water supply.

Lesson 1: We need more leaders

The Groundwater Act never would have passed if the governor and leaders in the House and Senate hadn't kept pushing to make it happen. A 25-member committee was created to work through issues, but progress had stalled. So then-Senate President Stan Turley ordered everyone to a retreat at the remote Castle Hot Springs to broker a deal. Though cities and miners drafted a plan, farmers excoriated it in public meetings.

But the governor and legislative leadership didn’t back away. Turley, a longtime rancher, refused to take sides. He kept pressing for a deal that would be in everyone's best interest. Then-House Majority Leader Burton Barr quashed parochial opposition like “a wet blanket,” as then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt put it in the movie.

We don’t have that kind of leadership today. Gov. Doug Ducey has convened a panel much like the one that helped create the Groundwater Act, and he seems genuinely committed to resolving the state's remaining groundwater issues, as well as those related to a future cut in our Colorado River water allotment.

But he can’t do it alone. Ducey needs lawmakers who can keep their colleagues focused on solutions that benefit the state, not just their constituents. Right now, he doesn’t have that.

Lesson 2: Knowledge matters

Babbitt was a geologist and lawyer, and as documentary co-producer Kathleen Ferris recalled in a recent interview, he met with staff for a year to educate himself before negotiations started. No one knew more about the issue and the players than he did. And that held tense negotiations together, many of which ended in heated arguments and consolation cocktails.

That’s another thing missing today. While most of the state’s water experts are engaged in discussions, few elected leaders know the ins and outs of water policy. They need to educate themselves – fast – or discussions will remain that: Discussions with no resolution.

Lesson 3: Expect shenanigans

Some have criticized Ducey for conducting his water meetings behind closed doors. But that’s how the Groundwater Act took shape. Disparate interests needed the privacy to work – or more accurately, fight – out their differences.

The process also had its share of bluffs and ruses. When negotiations again were at a standstill, Babbitt secretly convinced then-Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus to withhold construction of the Central Arizona Project canals everyone wanted until a groundwater agreement was passed. Babbitt then decried Andrus’s move – and got the OK to form a smaller group of lawyers and lobbyists to write the legislation that ultimately passed.

Lesson 4: Agreement takes time

Former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl was asked in the documentary how often the process was about to blow up. “Oh, about twice a week,” he answered.

Think about that. Just about every political leader in the state wanted to see this happen. The players kept meeting, kept looking for compromise. And it still took 3½ years to pass the Groundwater Act.

Politicians in today's environment rarely stick with issues for months, even years, at a time. But we’ll need that kind of resolve to pass truly groundbreaking legislation.

Lesson 5: The solution won’t be perfect

No one got exactly what they wanted. But when the legislation finally went for a vote, it passed without amendments in just seven hours.

"You had to give in on some things," Jim Bush, who represented mining industry, said in the movie. "That was something I had never faced before."

Over time, even the farmers that so vehemently opposed early plans came to see the wisdom in the act. It quantified their use and helped solidify their water rights.

But even though experts agree the law put Arizona on far better footing, it hasn’t solved our groundwater problems. We still are pumping more than we replenish, and the counties that are most reliant on groundwater are facing real supply problems.

The Legislature has again been called upon to fix these issues – and if it heeds these five lessons, it just might have a fighting chance.